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Not much has been revealed about the upcoming television project, “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.” The series, which comes from genius Joss Whedon, will be a television counterpart to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We have previously discussed what fans and viewers will want from the series but Whedon recently sat down with TVLine to talk about the plans for the new show.

The pilot episode “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D” wrapped production last week and is reportedly being fast tracked by ABC so it will be able to premiere this fall. Whedon remains enthusiastic about the series and is confident in its ability to do well with target audiences.

“I’m excited about the show because it’s a very hopeful show,” Whedon told TVLine in an interview. “It’s not about murder, and it’s not about crime, and it’s not people looking into their own belly buttons. It’s about people who are trying to help each other, and that’s one of the things I loved about comic books. They had costumes and the villains were cool [but] they stood for something, and I like doing a show that does that.”

He also quelled fears that the show would be to far off target in regards to the comic book series and the films with in the Marvel Universe.

“We’re trying very hard to be true to [Marvel’s] ethos and also to the structure of their universe. So it is definitely a Marvel show.”

Whedon is also acutely aware of the fact that fans are calling for some guest appearances from the movie characters. The show is about S.H.I.E.L.D. after all, an entity that appears in every film. However, Whedon revealed that guest stars are simply not on their radar at the moment.

“Right now, I want to involve people in the characters that we’ve created for the show and then we’ll worry about the other stuff.”

There is one character who is confirmed to appear at one point. Cobie Smulders, who played Agent Maria Hill in Marvel’s The Avengers, will appear on the show at some point if her current acting schedule on “How I Met Your Mother” allows.

The current cast for “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.” includes Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na We as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Gemma Simmons, and Chloe Bennet as Skye.

While the details surrounding the return of Clark Gregg has not been revealed, the studio has stated that the series will take place after the events of Marvel’s The Avengers.

The upcoming television series, “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.” has been gaining in anticipation since it was announced that Marvel favorite Clark Gregg would be returning as Agent Phil Coulson. However, questions were abound about when and where the series would take place in regards to the timeline of the films.

IGN recently spoke with ABC President Paul Lee, who definitively stated that the series takes place after the events of The Avengers.

There is no question that it is part of the Marvel Universe. In fact, the story takes place after the battle for New York,” said Lee.

It was also assured that the series would take place on it’s own terms and be it’s own story rather than an extension of the films.

This is S.H.I.E.L.D. They’re following their own particular stories. There are characters in it, Coulson, who clearly come from Avengers. So it’s part of the world, but we’re going to be very, very careful that we don’t tread on the toes of the features and build a whole new world. And that’s what Joss Whedon does better than anybody else. He’s built a world for us.”

One of the bigegest qiestions that has been raised is how the fate of Agent Coulson in the film will be addressed in the series. Coulson, who died in The Avengers, has been confirmed for the series. This question, it seems, will not be addressed until the series premieres or gets closer to its premiere date.

The pilot for “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.” will begin filming later this month and is expected to air this fall if picked up for series. In the show, Clark Gregg is joined by Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Gemma Simmons, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, and Chloe Bennet as Skye. Joss Whedon will direct the pilot and co-write it with his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.

By now you know The Avengers was one of the biggest films of 2012 and one monster of a comic book movie. Where else, aside from within the pages of a Marvel comic book, have you ever seen such A-List super heroes together in one place? You’ve probably also heard that the director of Avengers, the legendary Mr. Joss Whedon has a vision for a TV show inspired by S.H.I.E.L.D. If you’re like me, you probably thought the reality of such a thing coming to fruition was a little too good to be true. We Marvel fans have been on a lucky streak. It has to end somewhere, right? Well, so far, so good. We’ve learned even more details about the ABC network project.

Now, in the comics the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is sort of militarized group of covert humans tasked with policing super heroes. They get around on their giant Helicarrier, which I believe also sometimes doubles as a prison for the super powered. I seem to recall an issue of X-men where the Canadian team, Alpha Flight guest starred and the two gangs had to fetch Sauron, a Savage Land mutate who looks a lot like a man-sized Pteranodon. He had just escaped the Helicarrier. At any rate, Nick Fury is in charge of the black ops group. He was acted by Samuel L. Jackson in The Avengers film and in the preceding flicks, like Iron Man and Thor.

These days S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. This is a modern update on the original acronym. You see, created by Stan “The Man” Lee, as many most popular Marvel heroes also were, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around in print since 1965. Phew! Let’s not ask Nick Fury how old he is. We don’t want to incur his wrath.

So, here are the latest details about the show, which is still moving forward with a green light. Joss plans to write the live-action series with his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Speaking of super heroes, don’t the names Joss and Jed sound like alter egos? Makes you wonder!

The Buffy creator has outlined some of the characters we can expect to meet as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Let’s take a look.

SKYE | This late-20s woman sounds like a dream: fun, smart, caring and confident – with an ability to get the upper hand by using her wit and charm.

AGENT GRANT WARD | Quite the physical specimen and “cool under fire,” he sometimes botches interpersonal relations. He’s a quiet one with a bit of a temper, but he’s the kind of guy that grows on you.

AGENT ALTHEA RICE | Also known as “The Calvary,” this hard-core soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot. But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged.

AGENT LEO FITZ and AGENT JEMMA SIMMONS | These two came through training together and still choose to spend most of their time in each other’s company. Their sibling-like relationship is reinforced by their shared nerd tendencies – she deals with biology and chemistry, he’s a whiz at the technical side of weaponry.

I won’t get my hopes up until the pilot airs. I mean we all saw what happened to the DC comics reboot of the Wonder Woman TV show. It was cancelled before the pilot ever aired. Sometimes a good show is even cancelled mid-season. So, we’ll have to wait and see.

My other concern is this: Will there be actual Marvel heroes making guest appearances on the show? The appeal of this series is that it’s based on Marvel comics, yet not a single super hero has been identified as appearing on the series. Will Samuel L. be making appearances? What about Coie Smulders? If the show centers on S.H.I.E.L.D. and makes up original mutants for the team to interact with, why give it the S.H.I.E.L.D. name at all? It could be any bunch of humans dealing with any bunch of super powered individuals. I think this will have to be more like Smallville to work. Fans want to recognize the names of the mutants that our team is sent in to police. Who knows, if this show really, really succeeds, maybe actors like Chris Hemswroth, Chris Evans, and Scarlet Johansson will put in cameos. That, true believers, would be a dream come true.

If I went even further with my wishlist, the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series would keep the chronology of the films. I daresay Joss could introduce the character of Agent 13. She’s a certain blonde S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is a relative of a certain lady from Captain America’s past. Introduce her on television, then graduate her character to one of the Captain America sequels. Wouldn’t that be something?

In case you missed your chance to see Joss Whedon’s Marvel’s The Avengers in theaters, you should be happy to know that it was announced earlier today that the film will be returning to theaters for one more week. Marvel Studios officially announced that the popular film will expand back into 1705 theaters for the next week.

However, this may not be just an ordinary re-release into the box office. When Marvel announced the news via their Facebook Page they added a simple reminder: “Don’t forget to stay through the credits…” Why would they remind people to stay through the credits unless there was something new to see?

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the superhero ensemble stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and Stellan Skarsgård. The film has earned a massive $1.49 billion at the worldwide box office and it stands as the #3 film of all time globally and domestically.

This announcement also comes off the heels of news that Whedon will be writing and directing an upcoming live action Marvel television series for ABC. The series will focus on S.H.I.E.L.D. who features prominently in the Avengers film. No word yet on who will star in the television series.

If you are a fan of directing genius, Joss Whedon, you are probably used to news stories about his shows getting cancelled but it seems that maybe networks are catching on to his large fanbase. ABC has ordered a pilot for “S.H.I.E.L.D.,” a live action television series from Whedon who must recently was the director/writer on Marvel’s The Avengers.

The project is based on Marvel’s peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D (which stands for Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate or Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) found in both the Marvel comic book and feature film universes, including the blockbuster 2012 movie The Avengers, in which S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury, recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to stop Thor’s adoptive brother Loki from subjugating Earth.

The series will be written by Whedon and his frequent partners in crime, brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Joss Whedon is also expected to direct the pilot episode.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.” will be the first live-action Marvel television series to get a greenlight from the networks and is expected to start immediately. The project had been in the works at Marvel TV and ABC Studios for quite a while before it was announced earlier this month by Disney CEO Bob Iger that it had signed an exclusive film and TV deal with Joss Whedon. The deal included him both writing and directing the The Avengers sequel and develop a live-action series for Marvel TV and ABC, both owned by Disney.

Whedon is most known for his amazingly ahead of their time shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse. Let’s all hope we can keep this show from getting cancelled, amiright?

With Marvel’s The Avengers topping the U.S. weekend box office (earning a total of $200,300,000 in its opening weekend) it is no surprise that Marvel is wasting no time moving on to its next film, a standalone project about Scarlett Johansson’s character, Black Widow/Natasha Romanov.

Producer Kevin Feige confirmed that the project is in preparation. Johansson, 27, hinted that the film will be more of a prequel that focuses on the gun-wielding hero’s origin.

Johansson spoke with Ace Showbiz about the project saying:

I love her origin story. I think it’s just such a riveting one… It’s just steeped in history and the richness to shoot in Russia, perhaps… I hope that the fans’ voice is loud enough and they want to see a Widow origin story, I know Marvel would be happy to entertain that. We’ve spoken a lot about it.”

In the same interview, Johansson said her character is not just fighting for the good of the world.

She was almost salvaged by S.H.I.E.L.D. and so she’s loyal to that group, to that agency, but only as sort of paid debt,” she said.

The character Black Widow first appeared in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #14 (2002).

Her official history, provided by Marvel is as follows:

“A descendant of Russian royalty, Natasha Romanov was abandoned as a child and found by soldier Ivan Petrovich. A ballerina in her youth, she joined Russia’s K.G.B. and became an elite intelligence operative, a combination of consummate skill and classified government enhancements of her natural abilities. She also became infamous as an often-wed, often-widowed heartbreaker whose husbands (beginning with test pilot turned intelligence agent Alexi Shostakov) tended to suffer “unfortunate accidents”, a quirk which may have influenced her choice of long-term code name: the Black Widow. She eventually embarked on a lucrative freelance spy career, which culminated in her infiltration of New York City’s Latverian Embassy.

Manipulating the naïve young superhero Spider-Man into helping her escape Latverian security, Natasha used the information she gathered to audition successfully for the American-based international spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. She became a mainstay of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s black ops division, often partnered with Hawkeye (Clint Barton).

After Hawkeye and the Widow led the successful extermination of over five hundred Chitauri extraterrestrial subversives, the duo was promoted to the ranks of the Ultimates, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s celebrity super-agents, with newly falsified personal backgrounds. Alongside the Ultimates, Black Widow helped save Earth from a Chitauri plot. She and teammate, Iron Man (Ultimate)”